About Me

When not nosing, tasting, drinking and reading about malt whisky, I own one of Israel's premiere boutique coaching practices, specializing in small businesses and executive teams.
Trained in the law, I was an international law attorney and took part in Israel's peace negotiations with the Palestinians, as well as representing my country at the UN for parts of the negotiations on the implementation of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Later I was appointed to the military bench.
My favorite thing, other than whisky, is teaching.
You can contact me through the social media buttons above or by email: michael(at)maltandoak.com, replacing the (at) with an @.

Statement of Integrity and Guidelines

Malt and Oak is an independent whisky blog, offering my own views, opinions and news from the world of malt whisky.
These are my guidelines:

1. All whisky reviews published are of whiskies I have personally tasted and noted. Guest bloggers only write about their own personal tastings.

2. With the exception of official whisky samples, I accept no consideration whatsoever from any distillery, bottler, distributor, drink company or store for my opinions.

3. I maintain strict impartiality and objectivity in tasting all whiskies, not least when tasting official samples. Any review of official whisky samples sent to me will be so noted in the post.

4. I will accept invitations to tastings, events and official visits, and full disclosure will be made on any tasting notes and articles resulting from these events or visits.

5. Any sample received over 30 ml in volume is shared with fellow whisky bloggers. In any event, no sample larger than 100 ml will be accepted.

6. No advertisements promoting specific brands will be accepted.

7. I will answer any inquiry by my readers as quickly and as fully as possible.

8. Should I give a link purchase the reviewed whisky, it will be given free of any commercial interest. The link given will always point to cheapest selling price I found on the web. No commission is paid, nor any other consideration given, for such link.

9. As of July 2017, I serve as Douglas Laing’s Israel brand ambassasdor. As such, I will obviously not be posting reviews of Douglas Laing products.

Storms Can Get Dark on the Isle of Skye

Talisker Dark Storm is the new travel retail expression, going along with the trend of NAS duty free exclusives. The problem is, how do you create another new expression with enough merit to stand on its own?

The solution found on Skye was to use heavily charred casks with spirit that is very close to that of the storm. The result is indeed darker and with more depth, and at €42 at the duty free shop in Berlin, may very well be one of the better purchases I made this year.

The effect of the heavily charred is very pronounced, and results in a whisky which is not just smoky, as you really get the charred flavor playing with the smoke on the palate, in a very spicy encasing. Of the three new NAS expression, the Skye, the Storm and the Dark Storm, the latter is the clear winner for me.

Photo Credit: whiskyauctioneer.com

Talisker Dark Storm, Travel Retail Exclusive (45.8% ABV)

Appearance: Deep copper, slow and thin legs with a lot of droplets left behind.

Nose: The salt is the first thing to that comes to the nose, with a honey sweetness and a baking cake. Charcoal and peat are both distinct on the nose with star anise and play-doh and an earthy/nutty note throughout.

Palate: The charring of the cask is very noticeable on the palate. Spice running down the middle of the tongue with sweetness and saltiness playing a part. Touches of oak come through with a light bitter note and the peaty smoke and the char play on the tongue.

Linger: Light spice on the tongue in a rather short initial linger. Then oak, and pepper appear in the back of the throat giving way to a sweet smokiness on the tongue that stays on for an overall medium linger in length.

Conclusion

Of the three NAS expressions, this one is the best offering, not to mention being the best value for the money. It’s not old whisky, though not as young as the Skye, but has definitely fully passed into the very drinkable and enjoyable domain.

Next time you go through an international airport, a bottle of Dark Storm should definitely accompany you to your destination!

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